Have you been finding yourself distracted while praying? You are definitely not alone in that battle! Let's find out what the Scripture has to say about this prayer experience.
I've come across this quiet time reflection a couple of days ago, but just this morning, I had to remind myself about what I had recently learned and also shared with my discipleship group.
Let's dive into the depths of 1 Peter 5:6-10. Here's what the passage teaches us:
Verse 6 - Humble yourself under God's mighty power and at the right time, He will lift you up in honor.
Verse 7 - Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
Verse 8 - Stay alert and watch out for the enemy, for he is constantly looking for someone to devour.
Verse 9 - Stand firm against the enemy and be strong in your faith. Remember that your brethren all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering.
Verse 10 - In God's kindness He called you to share in His eternal glory through Jesus Christ. So after you have suffered for a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you.
Let's go back to the question earlier: Have you been struggling to get through your prayer without going off-track and giving in to distractions?
Photo from Ben White via Unsplash
If like me you have grown to pray using a certain structure, being suddenly reminded of pressing concerns and worries can cause a distraction from your talk with the Lord.
Author C.S. Lewis offers us a solution in his book The Screwtape Letters. He knew the struggle that people face when their minds tend to wander in the middle of prayer. However, he said that it's better to accept "the distraction as [our] present problem and [lay] that before [God] and make it the main theme of [our] prayer."
Instead of dismissing our pressing concerns or letting them disrupt our prayer time, we can turn them into the main points of discussion with our Father.
As author Jennifer Benson Schuldt reminded, God wants us to be real with Him. And this includes opening up about our deepest concerns, struggles, and fears.
God knows us inside out and He is never surprised by what we think, say, or do. So when something bothers us, you can be certain that God already knows it.
Then what's the use of praying about our concerns? The act of prayer is mostly for our benefit. It allows us to unload our heavy burdens before our God Who is always ready to listen and answer.
In 1 Peter 5:7, we are encouraged to give all our worries and cares to God — simply because He cares for us. He wants to give us the peace that only He can afford, and we can have that when we lay down all our burdens before Him.
When I'm too busy thinking about how I can solve my problems, I have the tendency to forget that I can bring all my cares before God. In turn, it conveniently slips my mind that I'm not called to live life through my own abilities and strength.
This leads me to become overwhelmed by worries that lead to unnecessary stress. See the cycle of despair I go through? I'm quite certain I'm not alone in this struggle.
The next time you find yourself becoming occupied and distracted by something, stop and take the time to bring your concerns before God. Content yourself in doing what you can and leave everything up to the Lord.
Remember, we are called to trust God and not depend on our own understanding. When we are patient enough to seek His will in all we do, He will show us which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Devotional material: Our Daily Bread, vol. 26
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